Key points

  • The Government has announced that teachers in England will get a pay rise of 6.5%
  • Unions are set to recommend this offer to their members.

This article gives the latest updates on teachers pay rises in 2023 across all four nations of the UK.

England

(Section last updated: 13 July 2023)

In July 2023, the Government announced a 6.5% pay rise for teachers in England. Unions have reacted positively to the announcement and suggested that they will suspend any industrial action and recommend the offer to members.

The announcement follows an earlier rejected offer of:

  1. an average pay rise for 2023/24 of 4.5% (this is 4.3% for most staff, and a higher increase for new and inexperienced teachers)
  2. a one-off payment of £1,000 for 2022/23 which would be backdated

The Government noted that this was on top of the 5.4% pay rise that teachers received in in Autumn of 2022. The IFS notes that, although the £1,000 one off payment is fully funded, the pay rise itself is only part-funded – 0.5% of the rise will need to be met from existing school budgets.

Teaching unions had roundly rejected the March pay offer, with the NASUWT’s general secretary Patrick Roach calling it “contemptuous”.

Unions had planned to co-ordinate strike action, leading to speculation that some schools could have been forced to close in the Autumn term.

Scotland

(Section last updated: 10 May 2023)

After a series of strikes in Scotland, a two and a half year deal worth 14.6% has been agreed between the Scottish Government and unions.

The new pay deal comprises of:

  • 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 – a 7% uplift for all grades up to a ceiling of £80,000, where a cap of £5,600 (pro-rata) will apply
  • 1 April 2023 to 31 December 2023 – a 5% uplift for all grades up to a ceiling of £80,000, where a cap of £4,000 (pro-rata) will apply
  • 1 January 2024 to 31 July 2024 – a 2% uplift for all grades up to a ceiling of £80,000, where a cap of £1,600 (pro-rata) will apply

(Source: Scottish Government)

The unions accepting the deal were the NASUWT, the EIS, and the SSTA.

Wales

(Section last updated: 10 May 2023)

The Welsh Government and unions have agreed a pay rise worth a total of 8%. The offer is split across 2022/23 and 2023/24 and comprises:

  • An additional 3% pay rise for 2022/23 – this is split equally between a consolidated 1.5% pay rise and a 1.5% one-off payment
  • A pay rise of 5% for 2023/24 – this is an increase from the original offer of 3.5% and will be paid from September 2023.

Northern Ireland

(Section last updated: 10 May 2023)

Unions and the Government in Northern Ireland are in dispute over a pay offer for 2021/22 and 2022/23 worth 3.2%. This comes on top of increases of 2% for 2019/20 and 2020/21. An offer has not yet been made for 2023/24.

Unions argue that, not only is the pay offer too low – they have asked for 6% for 2021-22 alone – but that the current offer comes with an unacceptable restructuring of pay grades.

Strikes took place on 21 February and 26 April 2023.

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